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A new dive bar is headed to Washington Avenue thanks to the owner of Love Buzz pizza and beer bar in Montrose.
Samuel English plans to debut The Pink Elephant Room at 4218 Washington Avenue either at the end of this month or early next. The historic 1930s art deco building formerly housed famed Mary Jane’s music venue and has mostly maintained its original features, although English has added a 40-foot-long bar, maroon booths, and decorative accents in gold and light pink. A mural of his drunken pink elephant mascot will take center stage — “pink elephant” being a euphemism for a drunken hallucination. English envisions the “casual hangout bar” as a pseudo-dive that’s “nice but not too nice.” To that end, he’ll have a pool table and a juke box on the premises as well.
Drinkers will find three or four signature cocktails from the 1952 cocktail recipe book A Guide to Pink Elephants, along with 6 or 8 craft beers on draft, 10 bottled beers, and couple of wine options. “People need a place to hang out and drink where they don’t have to stand in line or go to a goofy Kung Fu-themed bar,” English explains, bemoaning the influx of trendy bars from elsewhere, like Austin’s Kung Fu Saloon.
When The Pink Elephant Room debuts, it’ll operate from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Stay tuned for its official opening date.
